- This year has seen double the amount of unruly passenger incidents compared to 2019, KLM said.
- "What we experience in the air is a reflection of broader society," said KLM's security services VP.
The number of unruly passenger incidents has doubled this year compared to 2019 onboard KLM flights and at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the Dutch flag carrier said Thursday.
That's despite the Air France-KLM group being 6% below its pre-pandemic capacity, as it reported during this year's third-quarter results.
It suggests that airline passengers are misbehaving more frequently across the board, with scores of high-profile incidents this year — from Tiffany Gomas, the American Airlines passenger who went viral after accusing another customer of not being real, to several passengers trying to open emergency exit doors.
KLM, which is the oldest still operating airline in the world, said there was an average of 15 incidents each month involving unruly passengers back in 2019, but it's now averaging 30 a month.
On average, 60% of these are taking place onboard its aircraft, and the other 40% happen in the departure hall.
And alcohol played a role in more than half of the cases, the airline added.
"The consequences of passengers misbehaving are severe; it has a major impact on our passengers and our colleagues," said KLM's vice president for security services, Leen van Duijn.
"Unfortunately, we have to note that the number of unruly passengers has increased sharply," he said. "What we experience in the air is a reflection of broader society."
On Thursday, the Netherlands became the third European country to sign a declaration where the government and aviation industry agree to work together to tackle unruly passengers.
Schiphol Group, the public prosecutors' office, and five Dutch airlines signed the letter of intent.
As well as examining how staff can be better trained to deal with incidents and passengers can be made more aware of the consequences, they will look into making an industry-wide no-fly list.
It would mean that passengers who misbehave on one airline's plane would be banned from flying with all Dutch airlines.